It happened in an instant. Lima couldn't comprehend anything, while Maria could only make out a blur of John's figure in the air. His—actually Kasuur's—shining sword was much slower than that of his enemies, the Sages, but at least he wasn't facing them directly.
The Sword Seeks Tao was functioning perfectly as John soared through the air, threatening to decapitate Wuma with its fifth-stage Sage Realm power.
Wuma's fist didn't reach Nomier at that moment. He managed to bypass Malehit's hand between them and turned around to face John directly.
At that moment, John was certain that his sword would reach its target, despite Wuma's incredible speed. Even if the fist had struck his arm, the result would have been the same, though perhaps the blow would have lost some of its power. John was going to cut Wuma!
He would.
The Sword that Seeks Tao might not have reached Tao, but it would reach Wuma's neck!
DING!
BITCH...!
'Why?'
The sword didn't cut Wuma's neck. Instead, it bounced as if it had struck metal. Wuma's fist didn't hit John's arm, either.
No...
It went straight through John's chest.
At that moment, a faint sadness appeared in Wuma's misty eyes. Maria couldn't believe her eyes, and Lima covered her mouth. Still, she couldn't stop a terrifying scream from escaping her. Tears replaced her obscene gaze. Not from sadness, but from fear.
Wuma's other hand swung the sword, dodging obstacles like a flowing river, and reached its target.
Although Wuma aimed for Nomier's head, the young man pulled his head back at the last moment. He watched in horror as Wuma severed his left arm.
"Your Drunken Sage Transformation has become a high-level technique. You've improved it," John whispered. Only then did he understand. The basic version of Wuma's transformation, the Minor Achievement Stage, had been completed. The technique was, in fact, a high-level Sage technique.
At that moment, Wuma possessed all the basic characteristics of a fifth-level sage. He had simply activated one of the defensive techniques he had learned in his long life. That's why the sword bounced off his body.
From the beginning, John had no chance.
"Farewell, John. You are the only disciple of mine to live this long."
John's body, blood streaming from his mouth, slid from Wuma's arm and fell to the ground. But John threw the sword in his death.
It wasn't thrown with much force, nor at Wuma.
The gray hands grabbed Kasuur's Sage sword and swung it. The resulting force was no longer the same. With the change of hands came a change in effect. The same sword, with a simple swing this time, opened a deep wound in Wuma's back.
John's fall and Nomier's loss of an arm had a terrifying impact on them. Nomier grabbed Malehit with his good arm and pulled him back. Wuma's sword returned to its original position without delay.
"His power is now beyond measure. We must enter the heritage site. Two gates have already been entered," said Nomier. He was losing a lot of blood from the loss of an arm. Even if it wasn't the arm he wielded the sword with, it was still an arm. His fighting ability had diminished, and his face had turned pale.
He needed Lima's help.
But at that very moment, Lima stood there in terror as a terrifying, drunken figure appeared before her.
"Lima!"
Before anyone could react, the drunken butcher chopped off the terrified girl's head.
Wuma was unstoppable. This was clear to everyone. To stop him, one would either have to be much stronger than he was or kill him before he could progress too far in his Drunken Sage Transformation.
The weakness of the Drunken Sage Transformation was that it took much longer to take effect than an ordinary transformation technique. However, this was a high-level technique.
Because of its slowness, Wuma had only reached the minor success stage. He had created the technique himself. Clearly, he could reach perfection.
Even though he had only reached the minor success stage, his overall stats had increased by three stages, and his attack speed had increased significantly.
Wuma was an old sage. Considering the techniques he had mastered, did defeating him really... really seem possible from now on?
Wuma would get drunker and drunker.
"This was forbidden. You broke the kingdom's rules."
At that moment, a little girl with blood on her face and a terrified expression stood beside Lima's fallen body, staring at Wuma. She looked at Wuma, whose face and arms were also covered in blood. The dark red marks from John's wound on his abdomen stained his chest as well.
Wuma looked at her. His eyes, colder and foggier than ever, wondered if he was aware of all this.
Maria bit her lip as she stared at him in fear. The immense pressure made it difficult to even stand. But she forced herself to speak. On the brink of death, she had no choice but to reveal her pain.
"This is the Blood Tao. The strongest ordinary Tao. This Tao is forbidden."
At that moment, Wuma raised his sword. He could have taken Maria's life with a single blow. But if they all died, his secret—the secret of the Blood Tao—would be lost.
Maria was crying. She was terrified. She knew that anyone who possessed the Blood Tao was a demon, and now she understood why.
"You shouldn't be alive! How could they not have noticed a Blood Tao cultivator in 500 years?"
Malehit sprang into action as Wuma swung his sword.
"No one cares about a drunk old man."
Malehit struck Wuma with all his might. Surprisingly, Wuma paid no attention. However, his sword still reached Maria's location, albeit with less force. Someone else pulled Maria away and saved her:
A fat, green-haired figure.
"Ka...suur?"
Through tears, Maria looked at the fat boy who had saved her from the sword. The fearful expression on his face belied his actions. If he was so afraid, why had he stood in the way of this terrifying sage while running with Maria in his arms? Why had he saved her?
Wuma glanced at Kasuur, who was running away. A thin smile briefly appeared on his face. Then, he dug his knee into Malehit's stomach.
Nomier could no longer heal his wounds. At this point, he had no choice but to fight to the death. He quickly jumped into the fray and tried to stop Wuma.
As Maria looked back in Kasuur's arms, she witnessed their desperate battle once more. She could clearly see that Malehit and Nomier didn't stand a chance.
"We must turn back, Kasuur! They can't defeat him!"
"Neither can we! We must flee and claim the inheritance!"
Maria was suddenly angered by Kasuur's cowardly words.
"They will die! We must help them!"
Kasuur did not answer. Instead, he continued running with all his might. With tears in her eyes, Maria watched the two young geniuses continue to get hurt. They had fought so hard to help her and keep her alive. And now she was running away.
"I'm sorry, Maria. I want to survive."
These words pointed to one truth. Although the deaths around them had proven it perfectly, Maria saw it clearly.
'No one can beat Wuma.'
As they fled into the forest, Maria saw two more people. One of them stared at the chaos with confused eyes. The other was scared and tried to pull the confused boy away, but he wouldn't move. Neither of them noticed the young woman fleeing the battle just a few meters away. Yet they had both known the boy since childhood.
Maria burst into tears at the sight of the bewildered boy once more, burying her head in Kasuur's shoulder and allowing him to lead her away from the battlefield.
'I'm sorry... I'm sorry Evra.'